


Of Course

by LamesIsCanon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Break Up, F/F, Getting Back Together, James & Marlene friendship, Lily & Dorcas friendship, Minor James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-06 01:56:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21218663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LamesIsCanon/pseuds/LamesIsCanon
Summary: Lily Evans Potter loved her friends more than anything in this world."Merlin, they're so fucking stupid!"This was, of course, said out of frustration and love.





	Of Course

Of course it was Dorcas. It _had_ to be Dorcas _fucking_ Meadowes leaning on the wall of the living room with Benjy _fucking_ Fenwick of all people. And of course, she still looked perfect, even in the over heated room at an over crowded party, whispering and laughing in Benjy’s ear and _flirting _with him. She was flirting with one of Marlene’s best friends when it hadn’t even been a month since she and Dorcas had broken up. Dorcas was obviously over it, cup in hand and not caring how much she drank, leaning so close to Benjy that they looked to be together already.

_Are they?_ Marlene wondered, _or is this Dorcas looking for a one night meaningless hook up with a friend she can trust?_

It was this thought that made Marlene realize she was staring like a creep, and made to move herself away from the balcony overlooking the living room to cry in the master bedroom of whoever the fuck’s house this was. The Fire Whiskey was easy to find, sitting right behind the flat screen. This was, without a doubt, the most pathetic thing she’d ever done and she was well aware of it, sharing a bottle of whiskey with herself, crying in the room of someone else’s house at the same party where her ex was picking somebody up for the night.

Marlene knew she was drunk when she thought about pulling the friend Dorcas walked in with, after she had watched them get out of the same car from the kitchen window. Marlene could picture the conversation perfectly, letting the thrill of Dorcas hearing that her friend slept with Marlene and ‘Dork, this girl was brilliant, d’you know a Marlene McKinnon?’ and then Dorcas would know that Marlene was also very much over it. But, the thrill of the hypothetical conversation was over when Marlene knew she’d forget the name of this girl and just end up saying Dorcas’ name instead when she came, and that defeated the whole purpose of having a one night stand. Then Dorcas would know Marlene was _definitely_ not over her and probably call to yell about how she had hurt her friend's feelings. 

It took a couple more long swigs to convince herself that she really needed to put the bottle away after thinking about just marching down those stairs and confronting Dorcas herself. Demanding to know why after two years of Marlene loving her that she decided she suddenly didn’t love Marlene back and left their flat, leaving Marlene’s life shattered behind her. She thought of asking why Dorcas had stayed for so long if she didn't love her, and wondered if it'd feel good to throw the ring at her face. 

Before acting on anything that Marlene would surely regret, she put the bottle back where she found it, and walked down the stairs and out the house. Minutes later, alone on the side of the road, Marlene realized she hadn't seen Dorcas or Benjy while she was leaving.

Marlene is too good for her, walking down the stairs with such beauty, such carelessness. It’s in the way her hand slides along the railing, expression bored and posture prefect.

_She's not too good for me,_ Dorcas thinks, bitterly. _She just thinks she is._

Benjy had left twenty minutes ago with Gideon and Fabian Prewett, who were way too drunk to stay and Benjy was their ride so he said an awkward goodbye to Dorcas and was left with two over-sized red heads leaning on him as they walked out the door. 

Dorcas felt kind of bad for suddenly crowding him with that silly hair twirling and laughing and _whispering in his ear for fuck's sake _\- Merlin, she was really going to regret that - but Dorcas had seen Marlene staring, and she acted before she could think through it. 

But the feeling of having Marlene stare at her while she flirted with Benjy, it had made her feel powerful again. It reminded herself why she had left Marlene and the flat behind.

_Fuck her if she doesn't want to be seen with me. I hope that showed her _someone_ does_. 

Dorcas had talked herself back into self love and her own independence and had even talked with Lily (though the conversation was rather one-sided, as Lily had listened to Dorcas while looking like she really wanted to say something, but never did) about how she was over Marlene. 

Still, she couldn't get Marlene out of her head. Not since she say her walking down the stairs at that party, looking just as beautiful as ever, not since the breakup, not since they first started dating. Marlene had been the only thing on Dorcas' mind for two whole years now and Dorcas was going mad, waking up in the middle of the night and not having Marlene there to talk her down from her nightmares. It was crazy to wake up without the smell of breakfast and the sounds of Marlene humming to herself as she read. Despite the way Marlene had been acting the past two months before Dorcas had decided to leave, her heart hadn't stopped aching ever since she took that last step out of their apartment, with her small bag of things as Marlene watched silently from the couch. 

_"Remus and James are coming to help me move everything else this weekend." Dorcas didn't turn to face Marlene, just waited for a response. Waited for Marlene's new 'I'm-better-than-you' attitude to kick in and yell at Dorcas, but Marlene said nothing, and so she closed the door and never went back. _

Lily Evans Potter loved her friends more than anything in this world. 

"Merlin, they're so fucking stupid!" 

This was, of course, said out of frustration and love. 

James was taking the hit of her yelling, after Marlene had drunk texted him to ask why Dorcas didn't want her anymore and it had prompted Lily to explode into another angry rant about her friends. 

"Dorcas is so scared of getting hurt that she leaves without talking to her and Marlene is so scared of getting rejected that she kept the bloody ring a secret for months! If she would grow a pair of ovaries already and fucking ask Dorcas to just marry her already, than Dorcas would see why Marlene has been acting so weird lately and we wouldn't be at the receiving end of their suffering drunk texts!" 

James has nothing to add to this, because it sums up the entire situation rather well, and he's also very fond of his life and wouldn't fancy losing it by interrupting his seething wife. 

Lily had thought there could be nothing worse than experiencing Marlene bragging about everything for two months because she didn't know what else to talk about without blurting out that she had bought Dorcas a ring. How wrong she was, when she discovered that Marlene now only talked about how Dorcas has supposedly faked loving her for two _years _and left after she got bored. Lily had daily thoughts about how good it would feel to hit them both right upside the head. 

"We could just prank them." James voice had broken her out of her suffering and she groaned with fondness and exasperation. 

"Now is really not the time to be thinking about pranks, love." She refrained from pinching the bridge of her nose. James only rolled his eyes. 

"I mean, we could set them up. Invite them to ours for tea, make sure neither know the other one is coming and then lock them in our dining room and force them to talk." 

And maybe it was because Lily had to watch one of the most beautiful couples to ever exist breakup, or maybe it was because she was so sick of all the drunk texts and whinging, but in the moment, it was the best plan she's ever heard.

**Sent to**: **Jam Pot**

_You: _y dosnt she wnt me :( </3**  
**

_Jam Pot: _Lily is inviting you over for brunch tomorrow to cure what sounds like is sure to be a nasty hangover

_You: _ yayyyyy!!!!!! i lov brucnh :))))) my heart is still broken. 

_Jam Pot: _I know. But you've said yes now, you can't back out. Lily's making the food already, you're committed. 

_Jam Pot: _Bring hot chocolate, we're out. <3 u!

Marlene groaned at having been roped into leaving the apartment today, and on top of that, her head fucking hurt and now she had to stop and buy hot chocolate on her way to Casa de la Potter. After double checking to make sure she didn't drunk text Dorcas, she got up to shower and take anything and everything that would help her head out. 

And of course the thought of buying hot chocolate mad her heart hurt even more. There was a reason she's been out of it since the day Dorcas walked out. She'd thrown Dorcas' favorite brand in the trash and never bought more because it was just another reminder that the girl she loves once lived here but now doesn't anymore. 

_Woe is me__!_ she thought while getting dressed. _Poor fucking Marlene._

**Message from: SnAKE**

_You: _Lily why the fuck is Marlene here.

_SnAKE_: She's my friend, finish your brunch :)

_You: _I'm changing your name to 'snake'

Of course Marlene was here, and of course she looked just as bored and careless as she did last night. Upon hearing Marlene's voice at the door shortly after arriving, some part of Dorcas had hoped that Marlene would walk in looking miserable and hungover but _of course _looked fine and happy and not at all hurt to see Dorcas. 

Damn. 

The only emotion Marlene has shown so far was a quick second of surprise when she walked into the kitchen to see Dorcas sitting at the counter with Lily and a tin of Marlene's favorite brand of biscuits. It hadn't been on purpose, but Lily had invited her and asked to bring biscuits since Potter's residence was supposedly out of them, and it was out of habit while shopping that Dorcas grabbed the tin she'd been buying for the past two years. 

Dorcas talked willingly and animatedly with James and Lily while Marlene sat in her chair, looking just as bored as she had when she walked in and it made Dorcas' anger spike. At least she bragging and mocking everyone around her, like she had before Dorcas left, but she was still acting like she was better than the people in her presence and Dorcas' wanted to yell. She never got the chance when she broke up with Marlene. 

_HA! I broke up with you. I bet it makes you feel so mighty now, doesn't it?_

Dorcas' was expecting the thought to bring her some satisfaction, but it only made her heart hurt more. 

**Message from: Jam Pot**

_Jam Pot: _You're doing it again. 

_You: _Fuck off, I don't know what you're talking about

_Jam Pot: _Your 'holier than thou' defense mechanism that makes you look like a bitch

_You: _Fuck off.

Marlene had never been less bored in her life. Her mind was racing at a thousand thoughts per second and she kept hearing her thoughts go AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH while Dorcas looked _happy_ and ignored Marlene as if nothing happened. Of course Dorcas was here and of course James and Lily had left three whole minutes ago to make the hot chocolate and Marlene was in such an awkward silence that she could not deal with this feeling of suffocating while she picked her nails. 

**Sent to: Jam Pot**

_You: _This is getting real awkward you fucking demon, get back in here

"This was a set up." Dorcas' voice startled Marlene into almost dropping her phone. Her head snapped up to Dorcas and she almost regretted it. Her breath left her when she saw Dorcas' eyes again after a whole month and Marlene thought _How did I survive this long without you?_

"Uh... I could tell after Lily texted me to, uh," Dorcas cleared her throat, suddenly finding it difficult to look at Marlene "talk to you." Really, it had been after James had asked Marlene for the hot chocolate she brought since Lily had 'used all of mine and now we have none, I'm afraid' according to James. Marlene had blushed, and pulled Dorcas' favorite brand out of her bag. Then Lily and James left together and that's when Dorcas remembered that Lily had made Dorcas hot chocolate just an hour ago when she'd shown up early. 

_Fucking liars, all of them. _Dorcas thought. 

Dorcas heard Marlene's phone buzz, and she knew it must have been from one of the two traitors. 

**Message from: Jam Pot**

_Jam Pot: _Good Luck! :) 

Marlene felt her cheeks color when she read the message, knowing that she was now practically forced to talk to Dorcas. 

"James?" Dorcas said. 

"Ye- yes, yeah. Um, you were right." 

Merlin, she was stumbling like a child and when Dorcas gave her that soft smile, she knew her facade was up. She was faced with the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen and the one she's loved for the past two years and one month and she wondered how she was supposed to just be okay all of a sudden and talk to Dorcas. What was she supposed to say? If Dorcas wanted Marlene to know the reason, they probably would have fought. Instead, they both came home one night from drinks with everyone and Dorcas had gone to sleep on the couch, without a word. The next morning, she was gone. 

"You left." It took a minute for Marlene to realize she had said it without meaning to, and another to realize it came out shaky and whispered. Dorcas said nothing, and so Marlene looked up to yell, but was stopped when Dorcas almost looked... _surprised?_

"You didn't want me to?" It sounded like a question, but Marlene could tell now that Dorcas was just now realizing that of course Marlene didn't want Dorcas to leave. Why would she think that? 

"You left. On the day of our anniversary." Marlene repeated, because right now, words were failing her. 

Dorcas didn't look at her. She knew that, of course, that she had left the day they were supposed to celebrate two years together but Dorcas was worried that instead of celebrating love, Marlene would tell her that she wasn't in love anymore and needed to end it. 

"Why?" Marlene asked, and Dorcas couldn't play the silent game anymore. 

"You were acting different. You made me think you were going to breakup with me. You were mocking us and when you came back from the bar that night talking about the woman who flirted with you, I thought you were trying to tell me you could do better." Dorcas was angry again, because now was her chance to say everything she never had the guts to and she had every right to be angry after Marlene had made her feel so... 

She doesn't know how Marlene made her feel. Was she actually mad about the bragging? 

"I was scared. You started changing. I thought you'd leave me." Dorcas finished lamely. 

She stared at her hands resting on the table long enough for the striped table cloth to start swimming. Dorcas didn't say anything, she couldn't even tell if Marlene had left or not, and Dorcas' vision was blurred with tears. 

_I know it sounds so stupid, but I wanted to hurt you before you could hurt me._

She heard Marlene clear her throat, and stand up. For a fear-filled second, Dorcas thought Marlene really _was_ going to leave, but she came back a few seconds later setting the box of tissues in front of Dorcas. 

_God this hurts. I still love you. Please tell me I had it wrong. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, please come back. _

Marlene was crying suddenly, and pulling Dorcas out of her seat with gentle hands and Dorcas realized she had said that out loud. 

"You idiot. What do you have to be sorry for?" 

They were both suddenly laughing and wiping away tears and then kissing again and _Oh Merlin, please don't let me wake up. _

"I bought you a ring." Marlene said against Dorcas' mouth, and that started her away from Marlene. 

"What?"

"A ring. It's why I was acting so funny, I guess. I didn't want you to say no." 

"Say no? To what?" 

And then Marlene was kneeling, right in the middle of James and Lily's dining area, and pulling a box out of her leather jacket. 

_Oh._

"Please don't say no. I planned on doing it the night of our two year anniversary, at the lake, and I know this is Lily's place, but I love you and I can't stand the thought of walking out those doors without you. I can't lose you again," Marlene took Dorcas' hand and both girls wondered why they had never thought to talk first before acting. How was this worth losing over fear? "Marry me, Dorcas Meadowes? I'll never stop loving you." 

And, of course, why would Dorcas ever say no?


End file.
